I Owe You an Explanation

Why the name change, and its significance, according to astrology.

Photo by Rutil Sharma on Unsplash

What’s in a name, they say. A rose called by another name would smell just as sweet. Yes?

Of course, it would smell just as sweet. But here’s the thing about names. Our names are sound vibrations. A good vibration will have a positive effect on us, and a negative vibration will impact us negatively for the rest of our life.

Food for thought: Why do people wear birth stones and add or change spellings of their names or adopt different names?

I’ll share examples regarding the above so stay tuned to Astro Wisdom.

In Hinduism, when a child is born, his or her birth time is important to know. At the name ceremony of this child, the priest will provide an alphabet from the Hindi consonants and vowels. This particular consonant or vowel is decided based on the placement of the moon in the child’s birth chart. The name that starts with the chosen consonant or vowel helps the child to synchronize with the energies of his or her chart.

According to Vedic astrology, the story goes that the moon had 27 wives. These 27 wives are the different nakshatras or Vedic astrology signs. So the moon spends a day with each of his 27 wives. The moon takes 27.3 days to around the Earth. The nakshatra of the moon is extremely important because the effect of the moon’s nakshatra stays forever with the being.

My moon falls under Ashwini nakshatra probably, which is why my parents named me Lata. My family surname is Kokal. I have no idea how far back the tradition of Indian women changing their first names after marriage goes. But the practice is far and wide. The girl’s new name must be in harmony with the boy's name so that there are cordial relations after marriage.

My name changed to Neha Sonney after getting married. Lata Kokal completely disappeared of the face of earth, lol. Over two decades of identity - GONE! Just like that.

The more interesting part about names is what I’ve been learning about through numerology and my increasing interest in astrology. We get certain names based on karmas from our past life/lives. Having a change in name is also a part of the deal in this particular birth. As long as there is karma associated with a certain name, one cannot change their name. So there certainly is some karma associate with my other name Neha Sonney. I have this name on my identity card, as well a my passport. I have a book published on Amazon, lol, authored by Neha Sonney. Yes?

I plan to write and publish more books in the future. So there, it only makes sense to keep the same author name. However, deep down, this name never felt right. My marital life was a struggle. I fought hard to be heard, but that didn’t happen until I took dramatic steps.

All of this is well behind me. I live with these two names. My family calls me Lata. The people in Hong Kong know me by Neha or Sonney, depending on how I introduce myself to them. As I’m gaining understanding of astrology, I learned that as long as there is karma associated with a name, it remains a challenge to let go of it.

Last year, I even consulted with a numerologist who told me that both my names are fine, but Lata Kokal is better because it’s based the consonant sound as per the moon’s placement in my birth chart.

I feel like I have spent two life times. One as Lata, the other as Neha. Now it’s time to go back to Lata. It just feels right.

There you have it. The why and the stories behind my two identities. My two lives, haha.

In my upcoming posts I will be sharing about the phases of the moon and Pluto in the 4th house. The latter is going to be a video post for clearer explanations. If you seek to work with me to overcome your childhood trauma especially from narcissistic abuse, please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you struggle to love yourself, simply reply to this newsletter. Let’s see how I can be of more help to you.

With much love,

Lata